The Capitals did exactly what they needed to do: They got some depth, presence, and experience at forward with the acquisitions of Belanger and Walker, and they also went out and provided the blueline with some offensive depth in Joe Corvo.

That depth on the blueline is something this team desperately needed, going back to last season, and the Caps' second power-play unit can now have a true quarterback. As far as between the pipes, the goalies dealt today wouldn’t have gotten the Caps ahead, but so long as Jose Theodore and Semyon Varlamov don’t get injured, the Caps have solidified themselves as an East contender.

2. New Jersey Devils, 79 points

Arrivals: Martin Skoula—D

Departures: Fifth round pick (2010)

What does it mean for them?

Performance or not, the Devils made their biggest impact in acquiring Ilya Kovalchuk before the Olympics. The presence that was lost in the trading of Johnny Oduya was replaced in the acquisition of Skoula who, while nothing special, is a steady, experienced presence, landing in a defense that thrives off of guys like that.

It will be interesting to see though, if the Devils could have used an established puck-moving guy on the blueline.

3. Ottawa Senators, 76 points

Arrivals: Andy Sutton—D

Departures: Second round pick (2010)—OTT

What does it mean for them?

The Senators added to a strength, getting a strong defenseman that can block shots and really dominate alongside Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov. Already adding some scoring punch with Matt Cullen before the Olympics was a great move, and the Sens have a good, physical defense.

Like some of the other teams in the league, the Sens could use some insurance in net for Brian Elliot and in case Pascal Leclaire gets injured. Again.

For all of the flack he took in Toronto, Alex Ponikarovsky is a finisher. Put him on the wing of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, or Jordan Staal, and with those guys feeding him the puck, Poni could hit 25 goals by the end of the season. Because of that all-world ability, they may have an outside shot at pushing him to 30.

In Leopold they add a defenseman who can get the puck out of his end, along with some experience—in other words, a much more mobile Martin Skoula. The Pens only solidified themselves as the biggest roadblock in the Easter Conference (for a team hoping to contend).

Nothing really exciting here. The Sabres added some grit and experience with Raffi Torres, being a guy who could produce some healthy numbers down the stretch.

Other than some grit upfront, the Sabres could’ve used some tweaking on the back end, especially from an offensive prospective.

6. Philadelphia Flyers, 69 points

Arrivals: None

Departures: None

What does it mean for them?

Everybody’s offended (or I guess “surprised” would be a better word) at the inactivity on the Flyers’ front.

Honestly though, it’s hard to find a spot to add to that wouldn’t just be rounding out the depth on this team.

So instead, for those who watched TSN, let’s just remember the fact that Pierre MacGuire and Darren Pang nearly came to fisticuffs because they couldn’t agree on Washington’s depth chart.

7. Montreal Canadiens, 66 points

Arrivals: Aaron Palushaj—F

Departures: Matt D’Agostini—F

What does it mean for them?

People will continue to take sides on the goaltending battle until one of Carey Price or Jaroslav Halak are gone, but the Habs were able to address their faceoff needs earlier with the acquisition (and over-payment) of Dominic Moore.

Are they gritty enough to hang in the playoff race and then hang tough in the second season if they get there? I guess we’ll see.

While Dennis Seidenberg is having a good season, the Bruins are no better when you essentially swap him with Derek Morris and may, in fact, have taken a step backwards.

They lost a few fringe forwards in Weller and Bitz, but there’s still no Brad Boyes/Phil Kessel type scoring threat there. None of the teams behind them in the standings got better by leaps or bounds, however, so if the Bruins can come together and get some key contributions down the stretch, they should be able to stay in the playoff picture.

Anders Eriksson won’t be getting the Rangers into the playoffs, but the Rangers are also hoping that Olli Jokinen can gel with his new team can really generate some more offense.

Even with Jokinen though, the Rangers could have looked at acquiring a little more production up front, as they’ve already solved their issues in-behind Henrik Lundqvist (by claiming Alex Auld off of waivers).

The Thrashers added some toughness and depth up front, which is good: They’ve now thrown themselves into the post-Kovalchuk era and they’re going to be relying on a lot of young forwards. Acquiring guys to ensure their youngsters don’t get pushed around is a great step to take.

They’ve still got a crowded blue line and no real game-breaking forward—although a few are developing—but if the Thrashers were only selling Kovalchuk to get something in return and not as a give-in on the season, there’s not many other moves they could’ve made.

11. Tampa Bay Lightning, 63 points

Arrivals: Teddy Purcell—F, Third round pick (2010)—LA

Departures: Jeff Halpern—F

What does it mean for them?

The Lightning didn’t do much: Basically, their depth got younger by swapping out Halpern for Purcell, but the Bolts could’ve gone a little deeper, perhaps getting a few more assets and finding a suitor for Mike Smith.

The Vincent Lecavalier questions may never go away and just keep coming up every couple of months, but the rumors were fairly quiet around the deadline. Tampa simply needs to keep building through the draft and getting their young players the ice time they need.

12. New York Islanders, 60 points

Arrivals: Dylan Reese—D, Second round pick (2010)—OTT

Departures: Greg Moore—C, Andy Sutton—D

What does it mean for them?

Not a massive sell-off from a team that’s seen a lot of growth from their younger players this season.

There can be something said for teams low in the standings holding on to veteran players at the deadline. For the Islanders, it’s a good idea. While Richard Park brings talents to the game that could be valuable in a depth role on a playoff team, the young Isles need someone to learn from, and he’s an ideal teacher.

The Florida Panthers have said that there will be a changing of the guard. With that, they opened up some space on the blueline for younger players (Dmitri Kulikov and Keaton Ellerby), brought in some younger, tougher players in Byron Bitz, and are hoping they take a new attitude into the last quarter of the season.

Florida did a good job of clearing out some of the roster and cap eaters, providing themselves with the beginning stages of an opportunity to move forward.

To put the process in full force though, a few more players could’ve been sent out, like Steve Reinprecht and Cory Stillman.